An accessible website is one that people with disabilities can use, and for a small business the practical way to get there is to fix a short list of common problems: add alt text to images, make text readable against its background, let visitors use the site with a keyboard, label every form field, and caption videos. The standard most people follow is WCAG 2.2, which the W3C published as a Recommendation on October 5, 2023.
This guide explains the basics in plain terms. It is not legal advice. If you have a question about what the law requires of your business, talk to an attorney.
What is WCAG 2.2?
WCAG stands for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. It is published by the W3C, the group that develops web standards. WCAG is organized around four ideas: content should be perceivable, operable, understandable and robust. Each guideline has testable success criteria at three levels, A, AA and AAA. Level AA is a common target for business websites.
WCAG 2.2 added nine new success criteria and removed one old one, 4.1.1 Parsing, which the W3C calls obsolete. Content that meets WCAG 2.2 also meets 2.0 and 2.1. The new criteria include:
- Target Size (Minimum), AA: buttons and links should be big enough to tap.
- Focus Not Obscured (Minimum), AA: when you tab to a control, a sticky banner should not completely hide it.
- Dragging Movements, AA: anything done by dragging should also work with a simple click or tap.
- Redundant Entry, A: do not make people retype information they already gave in the same process.
- Accessible Authentication (Minimum), AA: logins should not depend only on solving a puzzle or remembering something difficult.
- Consistent Help, A: if you offer help, such as a phone number or chat, put it in the same place on each page.
Why does accessibility matter for a small business?
The first reason is customers. Some of your visitors have low vision, color blindness, hearing loss, tremors, or injuries that make a mouse hard to use. Others are simply on a phone in bright sunlight or watching a video with the sound off. A site that works for the first group tends to work better for everyone.
The second reason is search. Accessibility and SEO overlap. Descriptive alt text helps search engines understand images. Clear headings give a page structure that both people and crawlers follow. Captions and transcripts turn video into readable text. Fast, clean pages are easier to use and to index. Accessibility is not a ranking trick, but the work improves the same things SEO depends on.
The third reason is risk and reputation, which is where an attorney comes in. We do not make claims here about which laws apply to your business or what they require.
What are the most common fixes?
Alt text for images
Alt text is a short description of an image for people who cannot see it. Describe what the image shows and why it matters: “Technician cleaning a gutter on a two-story house.” Decorative images, like background flourishes, should have empty alt text so screen readers skip them. If an image contains text, such as a promotion, repeat that text in the alt attribute or the page copy.
Color contrast
Text needs enough contrast with its background. WCAG asks for a contrast ratio of at least 4.5 to 1 for normal text at level AA. Light gray text on white and white text on a pale photo are the usual offenders. Free contrast checkers let you paste in two colors and see the ratio. Also, do not use color alone to carry meaning, for example “required fields are in red.”
Keyboard use
Many people navigate with the Tab key instead of a mouse. Try it on your own site. Can you reach every menu item, button and form field? Can you see where you are, with a visible outline on the focused item? Can you close pop-ups without a mouse? If not, those are fixes worth making first.
Form labels
Every form field needs a visible label tied to it in the code, not just placeholder text that disappears when someone starts typing. Say what is required, and write error messages that tell people how to fix the problem. Contact and quote forms are often the most important part of a small business site, so test them carefully.
Captions and transcripts
Prerecorded videos with speech should have captions, so people who are deaf or hard of hearing, or who have the sound off, can follow along. A transcript helps too. Auto-generated captions need a human read-through, because they often misspell names and technical terms.
Clear headings and link text
Use headings in order, so a page has a logical outline. Write link text that makes sense out of context. “Read our roofing guide” is better than “click here.”
How do you check your own site?
Automated tools find only part of the problems, but they are a good start. Free tools such as browser-based checkers and Lighthouse flag missing alt text, low contrast and unlabeled fields. Then add a manual pass:
- Tab through your home page and your contact form without touching the mouse.
- Zoom the page to 200 percent and make sure nothing breaks.
- Look at the site on a phone and check that buttons are easy to tap.
- Play your videos with captions on.
- Read your headings only and see if they outline the page.
Be wary of any promise that a single script or overlay widget will make a site fully accessible. Fixes belong in the site’s design and code, so we build them into a site from the start. Our Website and E-commerce Development work includes accessibility to WCAG as part of the build, and Webmaster Services provide ongoing site care after launch as pages and plugins change.
A small business accessibility checklist
- Every meaningful image has useful alt text.
- Body text meets a 4.5 to 1 contrast ratio.
- The whole site works with a keyboard, with a visible focus outline.
- Every form field has a real label and a clear error message.
- Videos have captions.
- Buttons and links are large enough to tap.
- Headings are in order and link text is descriptive.
- Help or contact information appears in the same place on every page.
Pages that are easier to use help every visitor. Our SEO services and conversion rate optimization work often turn up the same issues.
Frequently asked questions
Which WCAG version should I follow?
WCAG 2.2 is the current W3C Recommendation covered here. Because content that meets 2.2 also meets 2.0 and 2.1, it is a sensible target.
Is my small business legally required to comply?
That depends on your situation, and we cannot advise on it. Ask an attorney who knows disability law in your state.
Does accessibility help SEO?
It overlaps with SEO in several ways, such as image descriptions, headings and captions, though it is not a ranking trick.
Can a plugin fix everything?
No. Tools can find and fix some issues, but design, content and code decisions need a person to check them.
Want an accessibility review?
BERI Consulting can look at how your site handles these basics and fix what we find. Book a discovery call, or start with a free website scan.
